


Distortion | BatBoys Halloween Special Short Story

by TheBlueMatrix



Category: No Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Batman Fusion, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28779144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlueMatrix/pseuds/TheBlueMatrix
Summary: Red Hood and Viper prank Nightwing, Robin, Red Robin and Whiplash into investigating abnormal activity in the woods behind Wayne Manor on Halloween night. In case of spirits, demons, or ghosts, Red Robin took ghost detection equipment with him. Unbeknownst to the group, Red Hood and Viper's prank becomes a reality.
Relationships: Jason Todd/Orignal Female Character, Tim Drake/Orignal Female Character





	Distortion | BatBoys Halloween Special Short Story

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: A lot of dialogue (I can't help myself) and strong language (censored)!
> 
> This was originally finished before Halloween of 2020.

Red Hood and Viper called for Dick, Damian, Tim, and I to the batcave.  
“We’re detecting some weird shit going on in the woods behind the manor—The radar’s been going crazy,” Red Hood informed in front of the Batcomputer.  
“We believe it could be supernatural activity,” Viper continued for him, “So,” she paused. “Who’s ready for a ghost hunt?”  
“Oh no-no-no!” I took Red Robin’s hand. “You are not making me go in there in the middle of the night on Halloween!”  
“Great! She’s in!”  
“What? No!” I couldn’t believe Charlie was making me do this. I stood in front of Red Robin and rested my arms on his hips, then my forehead on his shoulder. He held my lower back and rubbed.

I held Red Robin’s arm tightly in my jumpy grasp as we walked through the dark trees, stepping on their fallen dead leaves. “I’m already scared of the dark, I don’t need to wander in the woods on Halloween night like it’s a horror film.”  
Red stopped and cupped my cheek in his warm gloved hand and kissed me to calm my nerves. “Stay calm, love. I’m sure there’s nothing out here. If we find anything, I always have your back.”  
I kissed him back for good measure.  
“You two,” Viper shook her head.  
As we continued to walk with ghost equipment in Red Robin’s hands, Viper suddenly screamed. I screamed in reaction to her scream and jumped into Red’s arms.  
Red jerked. “Jesus—Christ! Did you have to do that! I’m carrying equipment here!”  
“Oh come on, bird boy. Don’t tell me you’re scared too,” Viper snarled.  
“No. Whiplash's shriek was just loud,” He put me down.  
“Liar,” Robin protested. “I saw you jump, Drake.”  
“No I didn’t! I’m not lying, you little—”  
“Girls, girls, you’re both pretty. Now can we get a move on?” Viper broke the tension.  
“You did kinda jump,” I whispered to Red Robin.  
He hushed softly and grinned at me.  
Ravens crowed from the trees of leafy corpses--Leaves and dirt crunched and grass swayed under our feet. It was just us in the dark inside the woods with just moonlight, three flashlights, and my high tech mirror glasses on night vision. My black leather suit didn’t protect me much from the cold breeze that pushed against me, so I stayed close to Red Robin for warmth; I could tell he was shivering a little bit, too. Red Hood and Viper seemed fine since they wore leather jackets and jeans. Nightwing on the other hand, he’s wearing a tight suit like me, I wondered how he was doing in the cold--Robin, I didn’t care about. A little brat like him didn’t get to complain, even though none of us did. While Red Robin’s full attention was on his ghost detection device, I reached over across his belt and carefully grabbed his retracted steel staff and hoped he wouldn’t notice, but he did and let it happen. I pulled it towards me and drew it to its full size. I brought it behind us and tapped his butt with a smile. Red shrieked in a high pitch and I laughed at his reaction, but he took his staff back and gave me a grim look, then retracted it, and stuck it to his belt.  
“Wait. Did Tim just scream like a little girl?” Red Hood stopped.  
“No!” Red Robin rejected.  
“He definitely did,” Nightwing confirmed, trying not to laugh.  
I kissed Red’s cheek to lighten his mood.  
He pointed at me. “No more coming from you, missy.”  
“Whatever you say, lovebird.”  
He reached a hand over to my face and switched my glasses to thermal vision. “Look around and tell me if you see any flashes of heat.”  
I stared at his orange, green, and blue figure. Turning my head, all there was in the woods was blue, no warm colors but us. I suspected Red wanted me to keep the thermal vision on, so I didn’t bother to switch back to night vision. “Ace,” I called for my personal computer built in my glasses. “What do you know about these woods?”  
“There have been reported human casualties, but they are inaccurate,” Ace answered.  
“What do you mean?”  
“The cases have not been completed.”  
“Great… Just what we need--Ghost stories.”  
“Ace, scan for spirits,” Red commanded.  
“I cannot do that, Red Robin,” Ace declined.  
“And why is that?” He gave sass.  
“I am not capable.”  
Red pushed a button on my glasses in impatience and irritation and Ace was suddenly gone.  
“What did you just do?!” I questioned.  
“Relax, he’s not gone--Just rebooting.”  
“Why?”  
“I’m done with his incapabilities. He’s getting one hell of an upgrade when we get back. He needed new installments anyway.”  
“Shut up, you two!” Robin bursted. “You’re already annoying enough--I don’t need your bickering!”  
I planted a hand on Red Robin’s chest in case he was about to lose it and fight him.  
“What’s even the point of this? We’re getting nowhere! I’d be better off alone.”  
Nightwing stopped, and the whole group stopped. “Robin’s right. We need to split up. Jason, you and Viper go west. Tim, take Whiplash with you and go east. Robin and I will keep heading north.”  
Everybody nodded to his plan without questioning his leadership. Just as we parted ways, I heard Dick and Damian talk.  
“About time I get a sidekick,” Damian’s voice said.  
“You’re the sidekick,” Dick talked back.  
“You wish.”  
Our feet crunched through dead leaves, twigs, and dirt as I walked with Red Robin in the dark trees that shadowed moonlight. I took his hand, but he did nothing. His fingers clenched softly in my grip.  
“Tim?” I asked. “You okay?”  
He hummed a question. “Oh. Yeah. Just chilly,” He gave me an optimistic tone.  
Panic spiked in my body and I whipped my left hand into view, still holding his with the other.  
“What?” He jerked.  
My panic remained when I found no engagement ring on my finger.  
He stood in front me and held my empty hand in his warm glove. “It’s with mine in the bathroom at home,” His thumb stroked my finger where the ring should be.  
Static bursted in our ear pieces followed up by Jason’s voice. “Viper’s f*cking gone!”  
Nightwing was unsettled. “What do you mean she’s gone?”  
“I can’t find her anywhere--She just f*cking vanished and her comms are static! Wait…!” Gunshots echoed across the forest and through the commlink. “F*ck!”  
“Red Hood!” Nightwing continuously called for him, but there was no answer.  
“Jason really needs to cut back on the cussing,” Red Robin said to me.  
My glasses reported Ace was back online. “I am detecting one life form in your area,” Reported Ace.  
“What kind?”  
“Humanoid, but my scanners cannot detect what or who.”  
“Why not?”  
“I’m not quite sure.”  
Red and I stayed silent for a moment to listen to our surroundings. I could only hear tree leaves rustling in the breeze and crows squawking.  
“Something’s not right,” Red contemplated. “That rustling isn’t natural wind. It’s in the trees. And it’s big,” He asked for a report from the others if they noticed anything, but they got nothing. He removed his hands from mine and backed away slowly, staring up through the trees. “Run.”  
“What?” I questioned.  
“Go! We have to lure it in the open!” He hopped backwards, and took my wrist and sprinted, then let go while I followed him.  
Red Robin tossed a flash grenade behind us. When it went off, light flashed and we saw our rushing shadows for a moment and a supernatural figure. Screams of an abomination rang out, it then screeched and chased after us. He slowed down, letting me run past him, and sprinted again. Red tackled me, landing on top of me with his arms wrapped around my body. Whatever chased us flew above us and rammed its head into a tree.  
“You really pissed it off,” I muttered.  
“That’s the point,” Red pulled me up. He went to check on the humanoid to see what it was, but it was already gone. “Dammit! Not even a blood sample? Nightwing, winged humanoid heading your way.”  
“On it,” Nightwing replied. “I’ll keep an eye out.”  
“What if us splitting up is exactly what it wanted?” I asked. “First Charlie goes missing and Jason got attacked, then it attacked us, and now it’s after Dick and Damian.”  
“I trained you well. I already figured that out, I just didn’t need to say anything.”  
I elbowed his ribs and flicked my head the direction the creature went, he nodded and we left to Robin and Nightwing’s position. Turns out, Red Hood and Viper met up with us. Everybody, except Damian, was confused about their wellbeing.  
“Dude, it was a prank,” Charlie finally admitted.  
“There’s actually nothing in these woods, this was all just for a good scare,” Jason added.  
“Typical Todd,” Damian muttered. “I never suspected this from you, Rogers.”  
Charlie shrugged.  
“So that was you that attacked us?” I asked. “All of it was a stupid stunt--”  
“I threw a flash grenade,” Tim interrupted. “Are you guys okay?”  
“You did what?” Charlie was confused.  
“We were attacked, wasn’t that you?”  
“No.”  
“What was it?” Jason questioned.  
“A winged humanoid,” Tim answered. “Please tell me that was you and your stupid prank.”  
“We didn’t attack you. We stayed in our area after we split up. That thing through the comms was just us trying to throw you off and scare you. Nothing actually happened.”  
A pair of red eyes glowed in the dark sky that belonged to a black figure with flapping wings.  
“I think your friend found us…”  
“Mothman?” I guessed.  
“No. He’s not located in New Jersey,” Tim swallowed in fear. “That’s… A totally… Different… Entity…”  
“Whatever it is, it’s outnumbered,” Dick spoke with confidence.  
“Ace,” I called as I turned on night vision. “Scan.”  
Ace took a moment to scan and process the figure. “Scan complete. It is Man-Bat.”  
“Now that makes sense.”  
Viper gripped her hidden green and black throwing knives and threw them at Man-Bat. He shrieked as her blades ripped through his wings and fell to the ground with a harsh thud. When Nightwing approached him, he took the one blade sticking out from his shoulder and passed it back to Viper, then pulled out cuffs and bound his wrists. I was surprised how fast he went down.  
“That was ridiculously easy,” Viper said to herself.  
“Welp. I’m going home,” I took Red Robin by the cape and walked back to Wayne Manor.  
“Whoa--Hey! We’re not done!” He complained.  
“Yes we are,” I continued to drag him away. “We’re going home, and we’re going to bed.”  
“But--!”  
“No, Mister Coffee Monster. It’s past your bedtime.”  
“I don’t have a bedtime--!”  
“You have one now. There are six of us and one of him, we can leave it to them. And five in the morning is not a bedtime.”  
“It’s only two!”  
“Exactly. Going to bed earlier means no sleeping in past three in the afternoon. Your body will thank me for this--You’re welcome.”  
“But--!”  
“I said no! You adorable jerk. And no coffee for you tomorrow either. I’m replacing it with tea.”  
“Not my bean juice!”  
Tim was pretty upset I forced him into bed. He didn’t even talk to me. I laid on top of him in bed and tried to charm him back into a better mood, but it didn’t work. He just stared at me. There’s one thing that he always falls for and it always works, so I gave him a nice long kiss. He closed his eyes and planted his palm on my neck with his fingers creviced through my hair, kissing me back. I pulled away and cuddled my head in his neck and he shut off the lamp beside the bed, then wrapped his arms around me and took a deep breath. He murmured that he loved me and I replied back, shuffling my face in his neck to show affection.  
I couldn’t help but think about Jay and Charlie’s failed prank. If the attack was them and not Man-Bat, it would’ve been a good one. They knew I’m a jumpy scaredy-cat and took that to their advantage to mess with us. But that Man-Bat attack… Tim knew exactly what he was doing and he calculated all outcomes. He’s always a few steps ahead, just like Batman. Sometimes I just wish he would let me in on his critical thinking when we’re at work, instead he keeps it to himself and chooses to tell me what he’ll do or not. Even after my almost sleep paralysis about my deceased mother last month in London, he’s still slowly opening up to me about his work and what happened when I’m not with him. He still hides those grim details. I just hope he becomes an open book after marriage and let me help him. It’s been almost six years since we’ve been together, and I became his sidekick last summer. Tim protected me from crooks since we met, and from myself since my family passed away; I know he’ll let me help him when he’s ready. That’s all I want from him.


End file.
